Hey

Can I ask you a couple of things about e.a.s.y? How long does Alfie go after his feed before he needs a nap? The fuss Eli is making just now when I try and put him down is terrible so I wonder if I'm putting him down too soon - usually about an hour and a half after his feed is finished? (I wait til he's yawning or getting grizzly).

Also, I am not doing the swaddling and stuff cos Elijah is too old and he had always hated it, but I think we need something else to tell him its nap time - he sleeps in our room where we also change his nappies so just going into that room isn't really enough - do you do anything that tells Alfie its time to go to sleep?

could do with a nap but Elijah is whimpering in his crib so I'm leaving him to decide if he's sleeping or getting up

i would say maybe 20-30 mins. i followed the EASY routine and i swear by it. i used to put on a soothing cd when Cerys was put down for a nap so she associated the music with naptime. it might take a few days but they get the hint. sounds like you maybe leaving it too long and then he goes past his sleep window. make sure the room is quiet and darkish as well. you have got to be consistent though. i love Tracy Hoggs books - like a bible xx

LOL sorry Mari, i just realised this post was for Amy x

haha no worries! We are on day 6 and although he has managed a few 40 min naps he has screamed for half an hour before going down each time and its getting quite draining! We are trying to be consistent but sometimes he wants to be bf again before he has a nap - this morning for example he missed his 10am nap because he screamed from 9.45 til just after 11 at which point I gave up stuck!

awww bless - stick with it, it will be so worth it. Cerys has slept 12 hrs a night and gone down for 2 naps a day since she was about 4-5 months with hardly any fuss, apart from when shes been teething or ill thats a different story LOL - Good luck x

Yeah, I think Eli might be teething (or having some movement in his gums) he's such a dribbly chops at the moment! He did go to bed at 10.30 last night which is unheard of, usually it's 1-2am so something is changing, it's just agonising at times! Thanks!

its a roller coaster for the first year - nothing stays the same x

that's reassuring! poor amy will feel really left out of this conversation haha, I only messaged her cos Alfie is a similar age and I know she does easy (sorry amy!)

Hey!!!

Soz took so long to reply - aint been on here for a couple of days n i never check it normally as nobody ever sends me messages :-( - mari ure my only friend!!

Anyhoos alfie is funny with his nap times. His routine is:

9am - bottle followed by brekkie
10 til 11 - play time
11 til 12 - nap time
12.30 - bottle followed by dinner
1.30 - 3.00 - play time
3 til 4 - nap time
4pm - bottle followed by tea
4.30 - 6 play time
6.30 - short nap of 15 mins
7.30 - bed

His nap times are funny as hes like eli and only has about 40 mins cat naps so where ive put an hr slot that depends on how he sleeps. Alfies EASY routine tends to be more EASY-A !!!!

I think the key is to catch them when they first show the signs of tiredness. As soon as u see red eyes, r they start yawning or rubbing there eyes put them down. Alfie has a comfort blanket which he likes over his face (not smothering tho) when he naps and also its the only time he gets his dummy. I tend to snuggle him tight - put his dummy in, put his blanket next to his face and give him a few littke shakes. If hes at the right stage of tiredness he goes off within minutes. If i leave it longer than this he does fight it bad and can take a good half hour to get him off

x

http://direct.asda.com/george/baby-clothes/accessories/boys-snuggler-blanket/GEM25797,default,pd.html

This is the comforter alfie has btw. Dead soft and alfie likes tp tickle his nose with the end of it when he starts to get tired!! x

argh the forum just deleted my long reply! Tsk, we have caught him a couple of times before he is too tired and 5 minutes of just sitting gently rubbing his back seemed to be enough to send him to sleep - i was amazed, i think ive been mistaking tiredness for ages. A few times he has been really overtired though and that was awful so its all a bit hit or miss just now! Elijah has a favourite blankie but its huge so I think we need to find something I feel he can have in his cot, he won't let me snuggle him tightly in anything but I think he enjoys stuffing muslin into his face so might try that...thank you so much I will study your answer a bit more in the morning!

(p.s aww i'll be your only friend!)

How did ure night go then? u said he slept longer than usual?! thats gr8 - hes obv realising that mammy is the boss haha x

he didnt go to sleep until half eleven but thats better than 1am!!! he has had 4 naps today, im completely amazed, one was 2 hours long! and he has been a cheerful chappy the rest of the time so im SO glad there is finally some effect

Excellent!! Deffo some progress - hell be going down at 8 and sleeping through in no time haha. I deffo think that sleep promotes sleep so the better he sleeps during the day the better he'll sleep at night.

x